03-01-2011 09:14 AM
I don't understand why anyone would think there was an advantage to posting a listing of a home on the internet without any shots of the iniside of the home... but instead, post 10 to 16 shots of different angles of the outside of the home along with surrounding common areas. Sure, common areas are nice, but buyers aren't trying to determine how their family & furnishings will fit into the external and surrounding areas of a home.
Shopping on the internet is supposed to provide a quick peak at listings to SAVE time (& travel) for the buyer - so they don't have to go to each property in their price range to determine if it is what they are looking for.
03-01-2011 01:48 PM
I'm with you. Here are my gripes:
1) No pictures at all, so I have to rely on Streetview and Birdseye view.
2) Pix that are all over the place: first an outside shot., then the basement, now the kitchen, (sink end), now a bathroom, now a bedroom, another shot of front of house, another bathroom, now the eating end of the kitchen, outside shot of backyard, back to the basement, back to bedrooms (looks the same - is it the same room?), now here's the shed in the back yard, Oh look - there's a lovely stove in the kitchen, and a fireplace in the basement, and there's a third bathroom, and so on . . .
3) Too-close shots of people's furniture without being able to see the room where the furniture is placed
4) I haven't seen many of the listings with multiple exterior photos, but I see MANY duplicated shots of interiors & exteriors scattered amongst the photos provided. - a big waste of photo space
As a prospective buyer, I like seeing the pix in logical order showing the selling points for this particular listing, or the reasons that it's a fixer-upper. My thought is that if it's listed as a selling point, negative or positive, there ought to be a picture of it.
For example:
Exterior, all (4?) sides of house, detached garage/outbuilding. RV parking, patio/hot tub, landscaped yard, horse accommodations, veggie garden, or whatever
Interior: Upper level - room by room in order, remodelled kitchen/bathrooms, the not-yet-updated kitchen/bathrooms, those walk-in closets, hardwood floors, new carpeting, parts that need fixing
Lower level: Turn all the lights on! Bedrooms, bathrooms, family room exercise room, parts that need fixing
A question - does it cost to put pix in the multilist listings? More pix - more $$$?
And my personal note to those people taking the pictures:- please lower the lid of the toilet before you take the bathroom picture.
03-03-2011 11:16 AM
I totally understand your frustration! Pictures of the interior of the house are detrimental to a buyer who is conducting an online search.
Here are a few reasons why you may not see interior pictures:
There is is a feature on our website where you can request more info on any one particular listing. You can send your request and your agent will get back with you regarding any questions you have ie pictures!
03-03-2011 05:14 PM
Thank you for your comments. I hadn't thought about the privacy etc. issues as most of the houses I'm looking at are empty fixer-uppers.
03-03-2011 11:18 PM
My pleasure! The absence of interior pictures on fixers are due to the condition of the house! But I agree with you! Buyers should be able to see pictures online regardless of the condition!
By the way there is no extra fee to post pictures on the MLS, but it does cost to get a professional photography. ZipRealty hires a professional company to take photographs and virtual tours. What you see on our website is every listing on the MLS; ZipRealty and Non-ZipRealty listings. I must add that if the house is a ZipRealty listing there may be more pictures available on our website then on the MLS.
07-06-2011 11:37 AM
Thanks maminian for clearing that up. I've always wondered about that too.
07-07-2011 12:27 PM
You are very welcome! Glad you found the info useful!




